Water fountains are considered to be esthetically pleasing, as part of a landscape or used in conjunction with swimming pools. Heretofore, most home fountains employed a separate pump station and a vessel in which a vertical riser was positioned such that water pumped through the pump station was emitted through the riser and recirculated back to the pump station. Such devices have been utilized for decorative pools, which are large enough to form part of an overall landscape as well as for portable fountains which are two or three feet in diameter for the water receiving and maintaining vessel. Generally such fountains have employed submersible pumps which are electrically operated. As such there is some degree of danger involved in their use in view of the presence of water in proximity of electricity. In addition, the problem of external wiring for backyards, etc. also exists.
As to the use of fountains in conjunction with swimming pools, very few of these are known to exist.
While the home swimming pool market is quite large today, it has only been in the last 20 years that the average man would consider owning a pool. As it is, most of the homeowner pools are situated in warm climate states such as California, Florida and Arizona. As such there has been minimal impetus to the industry to develop fountains for home use. Those that have been available have in the past incorporated that state of the art submergable electric pumps. Applicant is also aware of the fountain of Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,528 issued in 1967. In that patent, the fountain is seen to float on the top of the water, and the fountain apparatus is connected to the pool filter system by means of a flexible hose for coupling, in one version. A second version is located out of pool on a vertical wall connected with the water inlet stream.
Applicant is also aware of the Hruby U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,028. The inventive aspect of that patent is in the water ejector. That unit requires an anchor to be secured to a hose for resting in the bottom of the pool whereby the floating fountain is maintained in the desired area. The fountain, being substantially vertically above the anchoring device. One problem associated with that pool fountain is the fact that the water inlet means must be specifically designed to enter at the very bottom of the pool, whereas in present day pools the water inlet is normally less than two-and-a-half to three feet below the surface of the water.
Other problems that are encountered when employing conventional decorative water fountains for swimming pool use stem from the fact that such conventional fountains are not readily adapted for use in home swimming pools. Connections between the fountains and the source of water, i.e. the water inlet of the swimming pool under pressure, generally require separate hardware and complex plumbing. Both of these contribute to cost, which makes them uneconomical to market for the homeowner.
The instant invention comprises a significant advancement over the Hruby patent in that where proper plumbing exists, it is not required to employ a ballasting anchor, the movement of the fountain stream can be controlled, and its rise and fall can be adjusted such as to create a pleasing esthetic effect.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel swimming pool fountain which is readily connected to the pool filtering system and preferably to the inlet for a pool sweeping device.
Another object is to provide a swimming pool fountain that avoids the necessity for complex valving and other hardware. Still another object is to provide a swimming pool fountain that is readily detachable from the swimming pool water inlet means and is thus removeable from the swimming pool when its operation is not desired. Still another object is to provide a swimming pool fountain with a controlable undulating motion for the exiting column of water.
A further object is to provide a swimming pool fountain which is both low cost and which requires little or no maintenance. Yet a further object is to provide a fountain which will avoid spraying persons in the vicinity of the fountain but who are on the decking surrounding the pool.
One further object is to provide a fountain with an adjustably inclined riser such that the water column motion can be altered between undulating and arcuit.